A post without a home

Ever since the Costa Mesa American Legion Hall was demolished in 1989, Post 455 has struggled.

Veterans occasionally met in a city building on 18th Street, but that space was commandeered by the Police Department around 2005 and is being used to store confiscated property and evidence.

Today, members meet in the Costa Mesa Community Center. They dream of a recreation room with a pool table, a library and a space to just hang out.

Councilwoman Wendy Leece would like to renovate the police substation and make it available to the vets, but Police Chief Tom Gazsi says it is being utilized and would need serious upgrades.

Deferred maintenance brought down the original 1937 building, which was just south of Lions Park on 18th Street. Membership had dwindled and costs rose. The post lay dormant between 1992 and 2002. Since then, it has come back in fits and starts.

Gazsi says city officials are looking for a “suitable location in the near future.”

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